Striving to See and Live Life from God's Perspective

Post navigation

Are You a Bossy Betty – Proverbs 26:17

Proverbs 26:17 "He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears."

The guy that is quick to take up the offense of another without knowing the situation is like one who pulls a dog’s ears. Taking a dog by the ears brings with it a high risk of being bit. In like manner, the one messing with another’s battle runs the risk of needlessly ruining his reputation. People do not appreciate a busy body, and this is exactly what this verse is talking about. A busy body thinks he or she knows what is going on, but knows only part of the situation. Then he or she tries to boss the involved parties around and only makes things worse.

The Hebrew word for "passeth by" and "meddleth" are the same Hebrew words. This is a fairly common Hebrew word that is used 559 times in the Old Testament. Its root meaning is " to cross over, overstep, go beyond." A busy body oversteps their bounds and gets involved in other people’s business in which they have no business.

Are you a busy body? Are others getting annoyed with you because your are sticking your nose in their business? It makes a big difference how people get involved in a situation. It is a lot easier being a bossy betty than a person lead by God’s Spirit who is humbly seeking to bring restoration where needed (Gal. 6:1). Which are you?